Activities

On 8th January 2016, the EU Semester Alliance held a 2nd stakeholder dialogue meeting with key representatives from the EU institutions: Roy Dickinson, Adviser to the Director on Policy, strategy and co-ordination, DG Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN, European Commission). The exchange with ECFIN focussed on 3 key issues: What could be done by the EU to ensure that quality civil society engagement was promoted at all stages in the European Semester; a first discussion on the Annual Growth Survey 2016, and how progress could be made on a more social and sustainable EU. Continue Reading

04/01/2016 – Green Budget Europe, in collaboration with CEE BankWatch, EEB and WWF, published Country-Specific Recommendations for 23 EU Member States and the Eurozone in support of the European Semester Cycle.

15/12/2015 – Eurochild carried out the assessment of the 2015 European Semester with the help of its member organisations. The work draws on the experience of the past four years’ (2011 – 2014) analysis of the National Reform Programmes (NRPs) of EU Member States, with an extended scope this year. In this year’s analysis we particularly assess the extent to which the European Commission ‘Recommendation on Investing in Children: Breaking the cycle of disadvantage’ (2013) has been implemented across the EU and whether the European Semester process is helping or hindering the achievement of positive outcomes for children.

01/12/2015 – This Report produced for the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union focuses on the social dimension of the European Semester. It reviews developments in the 2015 European Semester and provides recommendations about ways of further strengthening its social dimension, including as regards broader social stakeholder participation. It also discusses recent more ambitious proposals for restructuring the European Semester.

On 27 November 2015, the EU Semester Alliance held its first stakeholder dialogue meeting with key representatives from the European Commission and the Council of Ministers engaged in the Semester process. This first roundtable exchange discussed the latest developments and changes in the 2016 European Semester, in the light of the 5 Presidents Report, including a first reaction to the new Annual Growth Survey based on the Alliance’s joint letter to President Juncker, set within the broader context of how to progress on a more democratic, social and sustainable Europe.

21/10/2015 – Ireland and the EU have agreed to modest social and environmental targets for 2020, but even these will not be met without a change of direction.

The Better Europe Alliance in its meeting with the Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs today will call for social and environmental concerns to be put at the heart of EU policy. This requires a change of policy direction without which the EU and Ireland will fail to meet commitments on poverty reduction and climate change in 2020.